Fruit smoothies may not live up to health hype

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- If you drink fruit smoothies for breakfast, there's something you should know.

It may be better to skip the blender, and just eat the ingredients.

ABC's Becky Worley ate a breakfast of mango, pineapple, banana, yogurt, and apple juice.

The next day, she drank a smoothie of the same ingredients.

After eating the fruits, her blood sugar levels went up but stayed fairly even.

After the smoothie, blood sugar spiked right away, then dropped barely an hour later.

That caused her to crave snacks, something she didn't experience the day before.

When you eat fruit, the fiber slows down the digestion.

"You could say fiber is like a mesh-netting, so that it slows the sugar-absorption down, so that it's not going rushing in," says registered dietitian Maya Feller.

But with a fruit smoothie, you miss that first step, breaking down the fiber with the blender.

A better way to make smoothies altogether is to only pick one or two fruits, add some vegetables, such as a leafy green.

And add protein, such as protein powder, nut butter, or milk.

The protein will also keep your blood sugar more stable.